Career and Business Consultant.
A 23 year Navy veteran with 20 years of progressive experience in brand marketing, career counseling, world travel and veteran consulting. Founder and Co-Owner of MVOSS Creation LLC who manages and directs the following organization - serving the community of Virginia Beach and around the globe:
• Mvoss Creation Promotional Products
• LifeWise Consulting
• Chiefpreneur

Friday, November 30, 2012

10 Things we Liked So Far and 10 Things we are Missing (California) after 10 Days in a New Place (Virginia)

After over 3,000 miles of road trip from the west coast to
the east, it is time to evaluate what we have Learned, Loathe, Love here in
Norfolk so far and so good.

Loathe about
Norfolk

1.Traffic – never in my entire Navy life I have to
drive within traffic during rush hours since my yuppie days in Manila.

2.Temptations – living near the city gives us
access to many shops and other temptations.

3.Temperature – not as cold as Chicago or
Connecticut (where we lived in Gales Ferrry, CT for 3 years), we finally have to use our thick
jackets now (again).

4.Tree’s Dead Leaf – back to raking on falls.

5.Tons of Navy & Military people –most likely
we will bump to someone who is in the military at Chili’s or Lowe’s still
asking for military discounts.

6.Take Three – this is our third move as a couple
and we hated every unpacking and possibly packing again in three years.

7.Trapped – we live inside the NATO / Joint Forces
/ Staff Base where about almost Admiral’s headquarters sits and so security is
very difficult to go inside the base.No
more Pizza delivery and if ever we invited a guest to our home, we will need
their birth date and social security to get them a base pass.

8.Tarnished – yes, being in a city have pros but
being dirty is one of those cons.

9.Total Chaos – well besides the traffic, we
expect the roads and downtown to be full of unsightly population unlike those
places we lived in Port Hueneme, Groton or Lemoore.

10.Taped – there is at least 3 red tapes we encountered
so far.One is to get a visitor into our
base housing – must have their birthday and social security (so much for hosting a
party).Another big example is the
required age to use the Base gym basketball court.Since Sam was not even 2, I have taken him to
Port Hueneme, Groton and Lemoore base gym to play basketball and this biggest Navy
base in the world with the biggest gym only allows 10 years or older and here
our housing at Joint Forces must be 14 years old.Sam suddenly wishes “I wish we’re back in California” just to use the
gym for our usual bonding.

Time will tell - being here for only 2 weeks
won’t really tell us if this is going to be our final place to live as Navy or
Retiree.The anxiety of not knowing
where our future here makes us loathe it.Norfolk is a diverse community but not as diverse in most towns in
California which is predominantly Filipino and Mexicans but still balance with
other cultures, not as balance here in Norfolk which is dominated by only few
cultures.

Love about
Norfolk, Virginia

1.Convenience – few miles to everywhere we need to
go.

2.City Life – finally get to live in the city
again - being both of us growing up in Manila.

3.Character – not a boring moment.Most buildings are old but it has a true
character.

4.Cafes – plenty of places to eat, hangout and explore.

5.Cheap Deals – all the shops you can think of
including the best deals.

6.Casual lifestyle – no one cares if what you
would do or wear, being in a city.

7.Children’s Education – we picked this place
primarily for Sam’s future education if ever we decide to live off base and
find my next civilian job here in Norfolk.It’s consistently better in children’s public education compared to most
states in the West Coast.

8.Church –we’ve been to 2 churches (ICC and Upward) so far and we both
liked it and almost like our old South Valley Church in Lemoore:contemporary music, very progressive, diverse and cool people.

9.Community –We feel some of the southern
hospitality here in southern part of the East Coast compared to folks back in
the Northeast to be slightly friendlier.

10.College – easy access to pursue Myla’s and
myself on college on an actual campus and who knows for Sam’s future education
as well.

Learned from our
Trip from California to Virginia

1.To explore your options.

2.Connect with other people even from those 3,000
miles away – you never know if you will connect with them somehow – again.

3.Plan your trip but be open to changes.

4.Listen to your friends’ advice but pray about
it.

5.No matter where you go, it is not the community
that can affect you, it’s you who can affect the community and only you who can
control this.

My Daily Belief Postings: Prayer & Faith by Tony & Myla Astro

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Insights and Sights from a Veteran Career Advisor, Business Consultant and Social Media manager.

23 year Navy veteran with 20 years of progressive experience in world travel, career counseling, education advising and veteran consulting. Owner of MVOSS Creation LLC who manages and directs the following organization - serving the community of Virginia Beach and around the globe:

• Career Wise– provides current and most up to date information on veteran benefits, career development, and other transition support. With almost 17,000 combined social media subscribers serving those who are in transition seeking current information and guidance consist mostly of Navy counselors, active duty members, veterans and military family.

• MVOSS Consulting– creates meeting and unconference to Hampton Roads area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton and Portsmouth) and other nearby area in Mid-Atlantic providing education and training to prepare those who are in transition. Bartering other services with consultation and counseling. • Pinoy Puro – advice and cultural assistance providing video, photography services and career guidance to local Filipino communities.

Institute of Career Certification International - Director for Social Media

Active Membership: Knights of Columbus, Trusted Compass, BizConnect, Rotary Club, local church, Toastmasters, Shepherd’s Guide, Institute of Career Professional and National Career Development Association